Sister is planning her 1st trip in Nov for her daughters surprise 7th birthday. Everything is banking on her getting reservations the castle. We tried 180 day advance and everything was booked.She may cancel everything. Any ideas on how she can get in??”

Hi Christine,

Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! I can think of no better surprise than celebrating a birthday at the Walt Disney World Resort!

Patience, patience, patience. I have been in the same predicament. It is not pleasant at all, but there is hope! I would certainly not cancel the entire trip yet.

When I was desperately trying to book a reservation for Cinderella's Royal Table on a prior trip, there were seven of us in the group. First, I tried searching for any time - breakfast, lunch or dinner. We eventually got a lunch reservation for 2:20. How did this magic happen?

I changed our party size to four. I decided that it was most important for my daughters and my cousin's daughter to have this experience. The girls could not dine alone, so we had to decide which adult would dine with them. Since this was my cousin's first trip to the Walt Disney World Resort, it seemed fitting to be gracious and let her dine with the girls.

Once I changed the party size to four, I just sat on my iPad one night for several hours searching the reservation system. I searched every day of our stay, breakfast, lunch and dinner. When the lunch reservation appeared, I was ecstatic.

At Magic Kingdom, we dressed them in their princess attire and they strolled through the park beaming each time a cast member said "hello princesses." I also ordered princess balloons for them from Disney Floral & Gifts and had them delivered to Cinderella's Royal Table. The girls were in awe. They felt like royalty.

Meet the Panelist: Donyell, North Carolina

Hello from North Carolina! I am a mom of twin girls, wife, and university professor who has been inspired by the creativity of Disney for a lifetime. Since my first Disney visit when I was 12-years-old, I have been drawn to the adventures crafted by Disney Imagineers. Planning Disney vacations helps connect me to families who will find in Disney the kind of joy my family has experienced over the years. Allow me to help you map your own Disney journey so that you, too can create the memories of a lifetime!Learn More About Donyell

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